even michael bloomberg contributing the spike in crime to those phone thefts. tonight, one iphone user, who crafted his own sting tonight that worked. here's tanya rivero. >> reporter: he left his iphone 4 in a taxi on new year's eve. >> i immediately used my friend's phone to call it up. to see what was going on. it was turned off. >> reporter: the brooklyn musician becoming one of thousands falling prey to a growing crime spree called "apple picking." caught on tape. nearly 16,000 were reported stolen this year in the big apple, keeping new york police busy. >> if you just took out the thefts of apple products, our total crime rate would be lower than it was last year. >> reporter: but, unlike most victims, he got a lucky break, the crook started sending messages. from his phone using his online profile, trolg for dates. >> he was using my okcupid account. at like 6:00 a.m. to send messages to all of these girls. >> reporter: against police advice, he set up his own sting, creating a phony profile. with a cleavage baring photo plucked from the web. >> my best